Restoration of a wire frame model of a 3D object from a paper archive drawing

The article describes the practical application of automated information technology for the transformation of a paper drawing into an electronic 3D model of a product (wireframe representation). This transformation is relevant for CALS and BIM ideology of design and production of an object. This is connected with the need to use a paperless presentation of information which accompanies a product during its life cycle. This article describes all the stages of the process required to restore a wireframe model of a “detail” product from a real production paper drawing. The important stages of this difficult formalized process are: scanning of drawing and further vectorization of its raster representation; processing the resulting vector image; extraction of orthogonal projections of the product from the resulting vector image in the internal parameterization system; analysis of projection views and elimination of errors; transformation of the data obtained to form a point 3D model of the object; and, finally, transformation of the point model into a preliminary wireframe model. Furthermore, the time spent on the automated creation of a wireframe model and obtaining the same model interactively was estimated. Drawings of real industrial products of the “detail” type were provided by JSC Central Research Institute “Burevestnik” in order to test the technology developed. The algorithms of the above stages associated with the processing of vector data representation were developed at the Department of Engineering Geometry, Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design of NNGASU.